One type of construction of a surface emitting device uses a grating surface in a large optical cavity index-guided laser. These devices may be formed on a single substrate to form an array of devices which emit a radiation pattern which is typically about perpendicular to the grating surface. The output of these arrays are typically monitored by inserting a detecting device, such as an array of charge-coupled devices in this radiation pattern. This monitoring is initially required to adjust drive currents to produce a desired far field pattern and further monitoring is typically necessary to adjust the drive currents to compensate for changes in ambient conditions and to compensate for the aging of the device. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a light emitting device and a method of monitoring the device in which the monitoring equipment is not inserted in the primary radiation pattern.